Shannon Watts

My local news regularly features stories about gun violence in Washington D.C. and the surrounding area. Given the high rate of gun violence in the U.S., your news might be similar. What can we do? For Gun Violence Awareness Day, learn more about Shannon Watts. That Girl Friday is The Torchbearer, lighting a path toward a safer society.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Before founding Moms Demand Action, Watts was a stay-at-home mom who had previously worked as a communications executive. Immediately after the Sandy Hook tragedy, she started a Facebook group. The online conversation about public safety blossomed into a massive grassroots movement. Today, Moms Demand Action has a chapter in every state and is part of Everytown For Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the United States. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you follow Watts on Twitter, you know that she fearlessly tackles every aspect of gun violence in our country. We cannot prevent a problem we're afraid to discuss. Thankfully, Moms Demand Action empowers us with resources and data. On their website, you'll find information about the economic cost of gun violence, the impact of shooter drills in U.S. schools, the rise in firearm suicides among young people, and more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Where there's a policy issue, you'll find a Moms Demand Action advocacy plan and campaign. Did you know that "more than half of women murdered with guns in the U.S. are killed by an intimate partner or family member?" Right now, volunteers are working to disarm domestic abusers and pass Extreme Risk/Red Flag laws, which establish mechanisms for intervention if someone presents serious signs of harming themselves or others with a gun.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Ready to take action? Download the Demand Action volunteer app and visit Moms Demand Action and Wear Orange. On social media follow #WearOrange, created in honor of Hadiya Pendleton, to read stories by survivors and activists.